Democrat Mayor Lori Lightfoot has told McDonald’s Chief Executive Officer Chris Kempczinski to “educate himself” before he speaks after the CEO blasted soaring crime in Chicago.
As Slay News reported, Kempczinski warned Lightfoot that rising crime is leading to Chicago’s demise.
He called on the mayor to address the crisis after revealing his company is struggling to attract top executives due to violent crime in the city.
The restaurant chain boss urged Lightfoot to change course four years after the burger giant moved its corporate headquarters to downtown Chicago from a suburb.
Kempczinski is not alone in this, however, as many other corporate leaders have issued similar warnings.
Kempczinski said:
“Everywhere I go, I’m confronted by the same question. ‘What’s going on in Chicago?’
“There is a general sense out there that our city is in crisis.
“The truth is, it’s more difficult today for me to convince a McDonald’s executive to relocate to Chicago from one of our other offices than it was just a few years ago.
“It’s more difficult for me to recruit a new employee to McDonald’s to join us in Chicago than it was in the past.”
“We see every single day in our restaurants what’s happening at society at large.
“It’s not going to be something that McDonald’s can solve on its own.
“We need to be able to do it with the public sector as well.
“That’s one of the things about McDonald’s.
“Whatever’s happening in society, good or bad, you can be sure it’s happening at McDonald’s.”
He said he is not moving the headquarters, yet, but implored Lightfoot to make a plan and execute it.
“Let us know the plan so we can support it,” he said.
“It’s going to take partnership.”
When asked to respond to Kempczinski, Lightfoot fired back with insulting remarks and refused to acknowledge the violent crime crisis.
“What would have been helpful is for the McDonald’s CEO to educate himself before he spoke.”
After McDonald’s CEO says Chicago needs to ‘face facts’ about its ‘crisis,’ Mayor Lightfoot says he should ‘educate himself’ before speaking https://t.co/M2FMD1C59v
— Gregory Pratt (@royalpratt) September 21, 2022
According to The Wall Street Journal:
A number of major companies, including Boeing Co. BA 0.68%▲ and hedge-fund firm Citadel LLC, have announced this year that they will move their headquarters out of Chicago.
Citadel head Ken Griffin said he decided to move Citadel from Chicago to Miami for a better corporate environment, and company officials said crime was also a consideration.
Boeing said in May that moving its headquarters from Chicago to the Washington, D.C., area would bring the aerospace company closer to customers and engineering workers.
Kellogg Co. said in June that it would move its global snacking business to Chicago as part of its decision to separate its business into three companies.
